Samsung issued massive fine over Bluetooth patent infringement

Samsung has been forced to pay $15.7 million (£10.2 million) in Bluetooth patent infringement to Rembrandt Wireless Technologies, a patent investment company.

The jury took less than an hour to decide Samsung fate, following a change in the price of the patents from $31.9 million (£20.74 million) to $15.7 million (£10.2 million).

“Even though we think Samsung owes nothing, I have to address damages because Rembrandt wants $30 million,” Samsung’s attorney Jesse Jenner said. "24,000 companies believe Bluetooth technology should be shared for free. Obviously, Rembrandt is not a part of that, and they’re taking advantage of that.”

The debate on Bluetooth patent has been rife for a few years, following both Ericsson and other patent owners moving away from court battles with tech companies over using specific technologies.

It brings up a bigger debate on wireless patents in general like LTE, 3G and Bluetooth, commonplace features on smartphones that might not need to be patented.

Rembrandt certainly isn't new to the courtroom, it has fought a few battles against companies not willing to pay for its patent portfolio, which it continues to extend.

The news comes a few months after Apple decided to drop its patent troll Rockstar Consortium, after spending $2.6 billion (£1.69 billion) acquiring the patent from Nortel to compete with Google and Android OEM partners.

Rockstar Consortium consisted of Apple, Microsoft, Ericsson, BlackBerry and other key mobile players, all trying to lower the speed of innovation on the Android platform.

Apple's CEO Tim Cook apparently found the consortium a waste of time following Steve Jobs' death, after sparking a "thermonuclear war" with Android. Jobs claimed he would spend $40 billion (£26 billion) of Apple's savings on fighting Android, but since his death in 2011 Tim Cook has been fixing the bridges.